Echinacea plant named &#39;Rosita&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Echinacea  plant named ‘Rosita’ characterized by light pink ray florets, numerous, medium to small size inflorescences, a well branched, compact, dwarf habit, and excellent vigor.

BOTANICAL DENOMINATION

Echinacea hybrid

VARIETY DESIGNATION

‘Rosita’

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘Rosita’. Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae. This new cultivar is part of a planned breeding program to develop dwarf Echinacea hybrids. This cultivar was selected for its compact free flowering habit with light pink inflorescences. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary interspecific hybrid plants.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Little Angel’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,870), the new cultivar has light pink ray florets rather than white.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Kim's Knee Hi’, an unpatented plant, the new cultivar has lighter pink ray florets and is much shorter.

This new Echinacea cultivar is distinguished by:

1. light pink ray florets,

2. numerous, medium to small size inflorescences,

3. a well branched, compact, dwarf habit, and

4. excellent vigor.

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows the inflorescences of Echinacea ‘Rosita’ on a one-year-old plant growing in the field in full sun in early July in Canby, Oreg.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Echinacea cultivar based on observations of a two-year-old specimen growing in the trial field in full sun in Canby, Oreg. Canby is in Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness map. Temperatures range from a high of 95 degrees F. in August to an average of 32 degrees F. in January. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches per year in the trial fields in Canby, Oreg. The color descriptions are all based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 5^(th) edition.

-   Plant:     -   -   Type.—herbaceous perennial.         -   Hardiness.—USDA Zones 4 to 9.         -   Size.—grows to about 37 cm wide and 38.5 cm tall to top of             inflorescences.         -   Form.—basal clump, with about 16 stems from the base.         -   Vigor.—excellent.         -   Roots.—fibrous, with many downward growing and few laterals,             ivory in color, Yellow White 158D, roots develop easily from             cuttings from the crown. -   Stem (flowering):     -   -   Type.—ascending, with 1 to 2 inflorescences per stem.         -   Size.—to 35.5 cm tall to a terminal inflorescence and 7 mm             wide at base.         -   Internode length.—2 cm to 6 cm.         -   Surface texture.—strigose.         -   Color.—Yellow Green 146B. -   Leaf (basal):     -   -   Type.—simple.         -   Shape.—ovate to lanceolate.         -   Arrangement.—basal.         -   Blade size.—grows to 9 cm long and 4.3 cm wide.         -   Margins.—shallowly serrate.         -   Apex.—acuminate.         -   Base.—attenuate, cupped and gathered at base.         -   Surface texture.—strigose on both sides.         -   Venation.—pinnate, with 3 main veins, veins Yellow Green             145D on top and bottom.         -   Color.—topside Green 137A bottom side closest to Yellow             Green 147B.         -   Petiole description.—grows to 10 cm long and 2 mm wide,             strigose on top, glabrous on bottom, Yellow Green 146C. -   Leaf (stem):     -   -   Type.—simple.         -   Shape.—lanceolate, curl back slightly.         -   Arrangement.—alternate.         -   Blade size.—grows to 12 cm long and 4 cm wide.         -   Margins.—shallowly serrate to entire, slightly undulate.         -   Apex.—acuminate.         -   Base.—attenuate.         -   Surface texture.—strigose on both sides.         -   Venation.—pinnate, with 3 main veins from the base, veins             Yellow Green 145D on top and bottom.         -   Color.—topside Green 137A bottom side closest to Yellow             Green 147B.         -   Petiole description.—on lowermost leaves only, clasping,             grows to 6 cm long and 7 mm wide, strigose, Yellow Green             145D in center and topside Green 137A bottom side closest to             Yellow Green 147B on leafy sides. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Type.—composite on terminal stalked heads.         -   Number of flowering stems from the ground.—about 16.         -   Flowering stem.—grows to 35.5 cm tall from the base of the             plant to the terminal inflorescence and can grow to 13.5 cm             long from the top stem leaf to the base of an inflorescence;             branched with 1 to 2 inflorescences per stem; diameter             growing to 7 mm wide near the inflorescence; strigose;             Yellow Green 146B.         -   Size.—grows to 8.5 cm wide and 4 cm deep as disc enlarges.         -   Form.—ray florets held mostly horizontally, mature disc is             conic.         -   Immature inflorescence.—grows to 3.8 cm wide and 2.2 cm             deep, ray florets held at an angle (about 30 degrees from             horizontal) and rolled up so only the back color shows,             closest to N155C, disc color Yellow Green 144A in background             with prominent bracts Orange N25A.         -   Ray florets.—without pistil or stamen, to 18 in number, grow             to 42 mm long and 13 mm wide, oblanceolate with the tip             acute, entire margins, base attenuate, glabrous on both             sides; topside Red Purple 65C, bottom side closest to Greyed             Purple 186C.         -   Disc.—flat becoming conic, becoming 25 mm deep and 35 mm             wide with maturity, Yellow Green 144A in background with             prominent bracts Orange 24A overall.         -   Disc florets.—about 250 in number, each with 1 pistil and 4             stamen, grow to 9 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, each with one             persistent, very stiff linear bract (13 mm long with the tip             Red 46A, then 3 mm Orange 24A, then 4 mm Yellow Green 144A,             then White 155A at base); corollas 4 mm long and 1 mm wide,             tubular, 5 lobed, glabrous, Yellow Green 146B; pistil 9 mm             long, ovary 4 mm long, White NN155D, style 4 mm long Yellow             Green 145B, 2-branched stigma spreading, Greyed Purple 187B;             stamen 4 mm long, filaments 2 mm long and Yellow Green 145D,             anthers 2 mm long and Brown 200D, pollen Yellow Orange 16A.         -   Phyllaries.—in 4 leafy series, area grows to 31 mm wide and             5 mm deep, lobes lanceolate in shape, reflexed, grow to 7 mm             long and 3.5 mm wide, Yellow Green 147B, margins strigose,             tip acute, strigose on both sides.         -   Receptacle.—grows to 12 mm wide and 12 mm deep, White 155B.         -   Bloom period.—July through October in Canby, Oreg.         -   Fragrance.—floral.         -   Lastingness.—each inflorescence lasts about two weeks in             Canby, Oreg. -   Seeds: 3 mm long and 2.5 mm wide, oval, Brown 200C     -   -   Fertility.—good. -   Disease and pests: No pests or diseases have been observed on plants     grown under commercial conditions in Canby, Oreg. No resistances are     known. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct Echinacea plant as herein illustrated and described. 